Which to use
“débiter” and “défiler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,810
- “débiter” frequency rank
- #12,365
- “défiler” frequency rank
- 49175
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | débiter | défiler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vendre d’une façon continue, répétée, surtout au détail. | Détacher une chose du fil du cordon où elle était passée. |
Where the eye mixes débiter and défiler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. débiter and défiler follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: débiter vs défiler
A purely visual mix-up. débiter (\de.bi.te\) and défiler (\de.fi.le\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49175, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
débiter is recorded at frequency rank #36,810, classified as averb, pronounced \de.bi.te\. défiler is at rank #12,365, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.fi.le\.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 49175, this pair ranks #172,836 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of débiter vs défiler
Shared letters: deiré. Private to "débiter": bt. Private to "défiler": fl.
"débiter" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "défiler" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "débiter" for "défiler" ever safe?
Which is more common, "débiter" or "défiler"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "débiter" and "défiler" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "débiter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "défiler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #172,836 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "débiter" and "défiler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "débiter vs désister". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #172,836 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.